Taking a leave year off in between stints running an international affairs MA program. A couple thoughts:
1. International students are essential to American higher ed. Full stop.
2. Staff are often ignored/overlooked, and certainly aren't paid great, but do the really hard work

3. One of the best reasons to do a mid-level academic admin job is to learn whether you want a higher-level admin job (for me = absolutely not. I hit the Peter Principle with a grim vengeance over here).
4. Managing a real budget is rather nerve-wracking (see above!).

5. Best to let anger-inducing emails sit awhile before firing off a response (very hard for me).
6. Don't ask for other people's time unnecessarily. At some point you will actually need them for something important. Use a light touch, especially w/busy staff.

7. $$$ in universities is often not very fungible but somehow there is simultaneously a huge amount of discretion in how it gets spent. So dunno what to do with that.
8. Can be very rewarding, but I also enthusiastically look forward to never being a department chair or dean.